The morning sun rose slowly above the towering skyline of Neo Terra, its golden rays filtering through the diamond-glass windows of Eden's Elite Institution. The campus glistened like a monument to perfection—its spires reaching toward the heavens, its halls echoing with whispers of genius, legacy, and power. But for Vaughe Crimson, this world was anything but familiar.
He stood at the edge of the courtyard, hidden behind a row of metallic blossom trees. Their petals shimmered with embedded microcrystals that danced in the light. Despite the beauty surrounding him, Vaughe's heart beat with a storm of anxiety.
"Neo Terra," he muttered, eyes sweeping across students in elegant uniforms. "So this is the world I've been thrown into."
They walked with purpose, their gazes prideful, some even cold. Talents and professions glowed like nameplates above each of their heads, visible to all through advanced sensory implants. 'Pyromancer,' 'Divine Enchanter,' 'Knight of the Iron Pact'—the elite walked these halls.
Vaughe, in contrast, wore no emblem of status. No title. No profession visible. Just a black uniform slightly loose at the sleeves, and a solemn expression hiding behind sharp blue irises that now glimmered with an otherworldly edge.
The Space Deity's Body—what did it truly mean? The memory of its awakening just a night before was still fresh. The pain, the pressure, the collision of infinite stars within his soul.
---
Flashback: Infirmary, Night Before
He awoke to searing pain. The ceiling above him was glass, revealing the night sky painted in two moons. His body shook with invisible power.
> [SYSTEM AWAKENING… USER: VAUGHE CRIMSON DETECTED. COMPATIBILITY 100%... SPACE DEITY SYSTEM INSTALLED. TALENT UNLOCKED: SPACE DEITY'S BODY.]
> [PROFESSION GRANTED: FIGHTER CLASS — ALL-FOR-ONE. ABILITY TO LEARN AND INTEGRATE MULTIPLE FIGHTER PATHS. WARNING: SYSTEM IS UNIQUE TO THE USER. UNIVERSE RECOGNITION GRANTED.]
The notifications had flooded his mind, but what struck him the most was the sudden flood of cosmic knowledge—as if galaxies were speaking in unison, whispering his name.
---
Now, Vaughe exhaled slowly, his gaze rising toward the looming figure of the central building—the Grand Nexus Tower, where all freshmen orientations began. Today, he would have to re-enter society. He would walk the same halls the old Vaughe used to—before he jumped from that rooftop.
And yet, this Vaughe was different.
"I'll keep everything hidden," he whispered. "They won't see what I am… not yet."
---
Eden's Elite Institution: Orientation Hall
Hundreds of students gathered inside the orientation chamber, a massive auditorium shaped like a spiraling dome. The ceiling flickered with holographic stars as a hologram of the academy's Head Instructor materialized at the center podium.
"Welcome, future Paragons," the voice boomed. "You are here because your talents have been recognized. The world has no room for the weak. Remember that. In Eden, you either rise—or you vanish."
Murmurs passed through the students. Some were eager, others terrified. Vaughe remained quiet, his eyes scanning the crowd.
That's when he saw her.
Caelia.
She stood among the top-class candidates, her silver-blue hair tied in a ribbon, her eyes like a soft sunrise. Her uniform bore the golden insignia of a Tier-1 Healer—Luminara's Grace. Every movement she made was elegant, effortless.
Vaughe's heart clenched. She looked just like her. The girl from Earth who had died in his arms, blood staining her white dress as the world crumbled around them.
Yet here she was… breathing. Smiling. Alive.
But this wasn't Earth. And she didn't know him. Not this version of him.
He looked away, shoving the emotion down. "Not now."
---
After Orientation: The Assessment
"Attention," a faculty enforcer announced. "All new students must undergo the Aptitude Verification Test. Those without professions or talents will be reclassified."
A surge of anxiety flowed through the crowd. It was a known fact that failures were cast out of Eden or reassigned to menial city sectors. Talentless students were seen as societal burdens.
"Crimson, Vaughe," a mechanical voice called.
Heads turned.
A few students chuckled.
"Wait—isn't that the loser who jumped from the rooftop last semester?"
"Didn't he go talentless for five years straight?"
"Why's he back? What, got revived by pity?"
The laughter echoed. Vaughe ignored it.
He stepped forward calmly.
The examiner placed a crystalline sphere into a floating terminal. "Place your palm here. The orb will assess your talent and profession status."
Vaughe did.
The sphere glowed. Then it pulsed.
Then it cracked.
A blast of invisible energy surged through the room. Lights flickered. The entire test interface disintegrated into data particles.
The examiner stumbled back. "W-What the hell…?"
> [SYSTEM RESPONSE: PRESENCE OF HIGHER COSMIC SIGNATURE DETECTED. SUPPRESSION INITIATED. STATUS: CIVILIAN – UNDETECTED.]
To everyone else, the orb had malfunctioned.
The examiner scowled. "Another dropout. Probably corrupted the orb with useless mana."
"Next!"
Vaughe turned and walked off quietly. He could feel the mocking stares behind him, the whispers of disgrace. But beneath his calm mask, a smirk curled.
"Perfect," he thought. "Let them believe I'm nothing."
---
Later that Night: Dormitory 13-B
His room was plain—an auto-adjustable bed, a desk with a holoscreen, and a single closet. Vaughe stared at the ceiling, processing everything.
> [SYSTEM NOTICE: FIRST PATH SELECTION AVAILABLE FOR 'ALL-FOR-ONE'. SELECT A FIGHTER ARCHETYPE TO BEGIN YOUR JOURNEY. AVAILABLE OPTIONS: ASSASSIN, KNIGHT, ARCHER, BRAWLER, TANKER, SWORDSMAN.]
He considered it carefully.
"Let's start with Assassin," he said. "I need mobility, stealth, lethality."
> [SELECTION CONFIRMED. INTEGRATING PATH: SHADOW FANG STYLE. SYNCHRONIZING COMBAT MEMORY… COMPLETE. ABILITIES UNLOCKED: VOID STEP, DEATH TRACE, SILENT STRIKE.]
Instantly, his muscles shifted. His nerves restructured. Memories—fighting techniques, shadow breathing, evasive maneuvers—flooded into his body like he had trained them for years.
He exhaled. "Incredible."
He opened the window, staring at the starlit skyline of Neo Terra. He remembered the pain of Earth, the moment Caelia died… the bitter silence that followed.
And now?
He had another chance.
A world that humiliated the weak.
A system that defied logic.
A body blessed by the cosmos.
And a name to reclaim.
Vaughe clenched his fists, determination burning in his eyes.
"They don't know it yet… but I'm going to rewrite fate."
The stars above shimmered in agreement.
---
End of Chapter 2